Nov. 15, 2010
Box Score
Columbia, S.C. - Illinois took an early 11 point lead, but South Carolina came roaring back for a 61-48 win Monday night at Colonial Life Arena in Colombia, S.C. Fighting Illini sophomore Karisma Penn led the way with 15 points, but was limited to just 24 minutes and fouled out with 5:21 to play.
Illinois (0-2) used a 9-0 run to take an early 11-2 lead and later extended the lead to 15-4 with 11:07 left in the first half. However, the Gamecocks (1-1) outscored the Illini 23-10 the rest of the half to take a 27-25 lead at the break. Illinois shot 44 percent in the first half and Penn had 11 points in 18 minutes, but the Gamecocks collected 10 offensive boards to key their comeback.
The Illini closed the gap to one, 30-29, early in the second half after a jumper by junior guard Lydia McCully, but the `Cocks countered with a 12-0 run to take control of the game, leading 42-29 with 13:42 left. With Penn hampered with foul trouble, Illinois was unable to mount a comeback, as the USC lead ballooned to as high as 23 with 6:04 to play.
Penn played just six minutes in the second half before fouling out. She hit 5-of-8 from the field, including 1-of-1 from three-point range, for her 15 points and added three rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Junior guard Eboni Mitchell, a Decatur, Ga., native, had a career game, posting personal-bests of 11 points, six rebounds, five assists and 37 minutes.
Illinois shot 39 percent in the second half and 42 percent for the game, while the Gamecocks shot 37 percent for the game. The difference was rebounding, as USC held a 39-28 edge on the glass and collected 18 offensive rebounds, despite not having a player taller than 6-1. The translated into a 20-6 advantage in second chance points.
"They were the aggressors on the boards, which is disappointing," Illinois head coach Jolette Law said. "We need to work on boxing out instead of trying to jump with them. We were hoping to take better advantage of our size, but with Karisma (Penn) in foul trouble the whole second half that was tough."
South Carolina also had an edge in free throws, hitting 13-of-17 (76.5 percent) for the game compared to 7-of-13 for the Illini (7-of-11).
The Illini had plenty of supporters in the crowd as Law, a native of Florence, S.C., and assistant coach Usha Gilmore, a Moncks Corner, S.C. native, had over 100 friends and family attend the game decked out in Orange and Blue.
"It was great to see so many friendly faces and so much support for us in the crowd," Law said. "I wish we could have given them a better show and come away with a win, but it's always nice to know we have so much support from friends and family. There are certainly a lot of Illinois fans down in this area."
The Fighting Illini will now travel west down I-74 to Peoria to face Missouri Valley Conference foe Bradley on Friday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m., before returning home to Assembly Hall for Youth Day next Monday, Nov. 22, vs. Cal Poly at 11 a.m.
